How Pac-12 TV deal gets lowballed if Colorado cements Big 12 move post decisive BoR meeting

The Pac-12 TV deal is set to expire on July 1, 2024, leaving the conference as the only Power Five conference without a long-term media rights deal. The UCLA Bruins and USC Trojans are set to leave the conference on that day, costing the Pac-12 the Los Angeles market. There were expectations that the deal would be strong enough for the conference to keep the remaining 10 schools.

That could change, however, as the Colorado Buffaloes are reportedly close to joining the Big 12, according to Brett McMurphy of The Action Network, who tweeted:

"Colorado has scheduled a Board of Regents meeting for a 2nd consecutive day for Thursday, where the Buffs are expected to discuss & approve a move to the Big 12, sources told @ActionNetworkHQ. 'It's 98 percent,' source told @ActionNetworkHQ. Colorado has yet to apply for Big 12 membership, source said."

Check out Brett McMurphy's tweet below:

This follows news from Greg Swaim that the conference was still struggling to land a deal comparable to fellow Power Five conferences. On Monday, Swaim tweeted:

"BREAKING: Current best #Pac12 media deal is over $12M less than the #Big12 and there will be only 20 percent linear TV coverage, meaning only one P12 game a week on linear TV and it will have a LOT of competition for viewers. And Kliavkoff thought this was 'The Summer of George!!' 🤣"

"Confirmed the #Pac12 has been offered both a Tuesday and a Wednesday evening linear game each week. Not from @ESPN or @FoxSports, but the @TheCW apparently. Will they take it?!"

Check out Greg Swaim's tweets below:

While nothing has been made official, the Buffaloes have reportedly been contemplating a move to the Big 12 for much of the offseason. Losing yet another program could lead to no deal coming to fruition for the conference, or even worse, it could kickstart a chain reaction of teams fleeing.

How has conference realignment affected the Pac-12?

The Pac-12 has, arguably, been hit the hardest by conference realignment. While the UCLA Bruins and USC Trojans are set to join the Big Ten on July 1, 2024, there have been six other schools that have contemplated leaving the conference.

While the aforementioned Colorado Buffaloes could be the next to depart, they are not the only school in contact with the Big 12. The Arizona Wildcats, Arizona State Sun Devils, and Utah Utes have all reportedly been in contact with the conference.

Furthermore, the Big Ten is reportedly targeting the Oregon Ducks and Washington Huskies, in addition to the Bruins and Trojans.

If each of the six schools leave the conference, the Pac-12 would likely lose their Power Five status. While they have targeted the San Diego State Aztecs and SMU Mustangs to replace UCLA and USC, it will be nearly impossible to rebuild the conference if they lose eight schools.